Stop Bizarre Comparison
Friday night after the Rockets - Blazers' game, while waiting for the players to speak to the media, some of my colleagues were discussing women's basketball -- not just the Women's Final Four which just ended with Tennessee defeating Rutgers 59 to 46 for title number seven; but, women's basketball in general. My colleagues were all men; and, for whatever reason, they bandied about this bit of logic to be critical of women's hoops: "I could get a boys' high school team or a men's junior college team and win the women's tournament."
Say what?
Though I've heard numerous spins on that sentence to demean women's hoops, I simply don't understand it. What does a boys or a men's team playing in a women's tournament have to do with anything? This just in...women's basketball is not men's basketball!
I'm not going to say women's hoops does not need to continue improving because it definitely does. For example, far too many women's basketball players (high school, college and pro) are still missing far too many lay ups. Today's basketball players are more athletic than they were just five years ago. However, I do believe the women are losing they're basketball skills at the sake of improving their athleticism which, ironically, is what has happened in the men's game.
Despite the apparent desire for men to see boys win women's basketball tournaments, I want to shift gears a little bit and discuss the view from some women such as Christine Brennan of USA Today to remove the word "Lady" from team nicknames such as the Tennessee Lady Vols because they believe "Lady" is a gender distinction which confines women to second class status. Brennan wrote a column "What's ladylike in a floor burn?" which appeared in the April 4 issue of USA Today.
In the article, Brennan quotes Aimee Mullins, President of the Women's Sports Foundation, stating "Lady" is "symptomatic of a larger pattern of women's programs beieng viewed as the stepchild of the men's programs...These programs are not spinoffs of the men's programs. It demeans the seriousness of the women's programs to use the term 'lady.' These women train the same hours. It's not a cute pursuit. But the 'lady' aspect makes it seem like that. It's a little bit patronizing. I think."
I would definitely like to speak with Ms. Mullins because I simply don't understand her point. Is she saying using 'lady' is demeaning; but, using 'women's college basketball and 'Women's' Final four are okay? By no means do I want to seem as if I'm insulting her; but, I truly do not agree with her on this issue. I just do not see 'Lady' as demeaning. If a team / school / program, such as Tennessee wants to use the term 'lady" as in Lady Vols, then I do not see a problem; however, if a team or teams decide to get rid of 'lady' in their nickname, then that's their choice and I'll respect the correct usage. If a school used, for example, "Lady Gents" I may believe that usage is silly; but, I would not call it demeaning.
Lastly, with the prevailing perception by many men (and some women) in society -- and not just in the media -- that women's basketball is inferior to men's basketball, using 'Lady' in a nickname is a minor problem in comparison.
Say what?
Though I've heard numerous spins on that sentence to demean women's hoops, I simply don't understand it. What does a boys or a men's team playing in a women's tournament have to do with anything? This just in...women's basketball is not men's basketball!
I'm not going to say women's hoops does not need to continue improving because it definitely does. For example, far too many women's basketball players (high school, college and pro) are still missing far too many lay ups. Today's basketball players are more athletic than they were just five years ago. However, I do believe the women are losing they're basketball skills at the sake of improving their athleticism which, ironically, is what has happened in the men's game.
Despite the apparent desire for men to see boys win women's basketball tournaments, I want to shift gears a little bit and discuss the view from some women such as Christine Brennan of USA Today to remove the word "Lady" from team nicknames such as the Tennessee Lady Vols because they believe "Lady" is a gender distinction which confines women to second class status. Brennan wrote a column "What's ladylike in a floor burn?" which appeared in the April 4 issue of USA Today.
In the article, Brennan quotes Aimee Mullins, President of the Women's Sports Foundation, stating "Lady" is "symptomatic of a larger pattern of women's programs beieng viewed as the stepchild of the men's programs...These programs are not spinoffs of the men's programs. It demeans the seriousness of the women's programs to use the term 'lady.' These women train the same hours. It's not a cute pursuit. But the 'lady' aspect makes it seem like that. It's a little bit patronizing. I think."
I would definitely like to speak with Ms. Mullins because I simply don't understand her point. Is she saying using 'lady' is demeaning; but, using 'women's college basketball and 'Women's' Final four are okay? By no means do I want to seem as if I'm insulting her; but, I truly do not agree with her on this issue. I just do not see 'Lady' as demeaning. If a team / school / program, such as Tennessee wants to use the term 'lady" as in Lady Vols, then I do not see a problem; however, if a team or teams decide to get rid of 'lady' in their nickname, then that's their choice and I'll respect the correct usage. If a school used, for example, "Lady Gents" I may believe that usage is silly; but, I would not call it demeaning.
Lastly, with the prevailing perception by many men (and some women) in society -- and not just in the media -- that women's basketball is inferior to men's basketball, using 'Lady' in a nickname is a minor problem in comparison.
posted by Kris Gardner @ 1:28 PM
2 Comments:
At April 9, 2007 4:57 PM,
Anonymous said…
I had a long (and ridiculous) email exchange with a Florida writer who called UConn the "Lady Huskies.
When I pointed out that that's not their official and accepted name, he claimed everyone used it -- AP, ESPN etc. -- and that it was his paper's style choice.
When I pointed out that it was actually a rarity (for instance, in the top 25) and in the articles about the top 25, he said his readers needed it to make it clear that he was writing about a woman's team. ('cause the male teams in Florida, it seems, are chock full of player called "Tiffany.")
When I suggested that if that was his concern, then he should use the small "l" not the capital "L" since one was a qualifier and the other suggested a title, he didn't have a comeback.
Back on topic -- If you've noticed, ESPN has now put the qualified "M" and "W" before their NCAA basketball sports crawl... It would be cool if all media outles followed their lead - but somehow adding four letters (Men's) is too.. what... difficult? challenging? a waste of ink? - cause it would signify a cultural shift -- that they don't expect people to automatcally assume NCAA tourney means the men's side. Or heck, maybe they're ahead of the curve and they're REMINDING readers that it doesn't automatically mean the men's tourney..
Seems to me, as you said, "Lady" is a choice -- UConn asked their players and they chose not to use it. I can't imagine the Vols ever dropping their "Lady." Or the Lady Techsters...
But I can see that a discussion about the use of it -- as a reflection of past history and current status -- educates participants and fans one the challenges that women's basketball faces, not only on the court, but off the court.
Any move forward -- no matter how small -- is a good thing.
At April 9, 2007 5:31 PM,
Kris Gardner said…
Thanks for your comments.
I'll respect a team's wishes either way - with 'Lady' or without it.
Rice stopped using 'Lady'; so, I'll have to get used to that and refer to them as the Rice Owls. I'll adjust.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home